a journey back to health

Remember the 90s? You may remember the fashion and the music, but I remember the food. I was in college when the low fat, high carbohydrate craze was popular. My college cafeteria was full of bagel sandwiches, pizza, bread, and muffins. For me, this is when the first clues began that something was not right with my health.

Fast forward a few years later, I couldn’t eat a meal without feeling terrible intestinal distress. I had all the routes to various restrooms mapped out in my head. This began my whirlwind of visits to doctors and specialists over the next couple of years. I had numerous endoscopies and colonoscopies none of which revealed anything sinister. I was advised to eat low fat, take antacids, and reduce my stress level. I also had some health professionals tell me I would just have to live with it. Looking back, I realize no health professional ever asked me about my diet. By 2000, I was exhausted and felt like I was aging quickly.

I was always interested in health and loved reading about nutrition. I picked up the popular book, The Zone, by Barry Spears. After following the eating plan for just a few days, I couldn’t believe how much better I was feeling. I was able to eat and not feel pain or visit the restroom numerous times. I connected the dots and realized that the foods I was no longer eating were all grain based, primarily wheat. [Note that The Zone program is not suited to those who have celiac disease, but it does have much less grain intake.]

Not wanting to wait any longer to feel better, I booked an appointment with a registered dietitian since I wasn’t yet one at the time to find out how to follow a gluten free diet. She directed me to a gastroenterologist with good experience in testing for celiac disease. At this point, I had already had numerous endoscopies which is the gold standard method for diagnosis; however, I learned later none had properly tested me for celiac disease. Also, at the time that I was ill with symptoms, the celiac blood tests were not as accurate or specific as they are in present day. Many doctors had also been trained that celiac disease was a rare condition. Yet, celiac disease is one of the most common autoimmune conditions affecting 1 out of every 133 people.

I remember being in the new gastroenterologist’s office who I’ll refer to as “Dr. A.”. He told me he didn’t think I had celiac disease and that my symptoms were consistent with IBS. I thought to myself, “Could IBS really be this bad?” Tears welled up in my eyes out of frustration. I asked him if he would just proceed with doing the endoscopy anyway. Later that week after my procedure, I got a message on my answering machine (remember it was still the 90s) from Dr. A telling me that my instincts were correct and that I did in fact have celiac disease. He told me to stop eating gluten and I would be fine. The total time to diagnose my celiac disease was 9 years.

As coincidence would have it, I had just been accepted to a graduate program in nutrition to become a dietitian. It was as if the universe was telling me that nutrition was my calling! I had a disease that could only be treated with diet alone. There is currently no medication to treat celiac disease. I am so thankful that I was surrounded by a group of budding dietitians as I navigated my new life.

The next couple of years were still rocky as I recovered from the damage and nutrient deficiencies caused by celiac. It was a bumpy road to feeling “fine” again. I still think back that if I had not advocated for myself at Dr. A’s office, I might still be struggling now.

I am happy to call myself a dietitian who specializes in gastrointestinal nutrition. One of my favorite things to do is give hope to others who are struggling too. My body healed and your’s can too!

In health,

Leslie